Pressing machine for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes



A. EPPLER Aug. 4, 1931.

PRESSING MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES FiledDec. 30. 1927 |NVENTOR .itis necessary to form a joint at the. the welt.Various common types of joint Patented Aug. 4, 1 931 unrrsn sra'rss-PATENT OFFICE JERSEY ANDREw El PLER, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOUNITED SHOE MA- 7 CI-IINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON,

NEW JERSEY, A CORPOR-ATION,OF NEW "PBESSING- MACHINE FOR USE IN THEMANUFACTURE OF BOGTS AND SHOES Application filed December 30, 1927.Serial No. 243,702.

This invention relates to pressing machinesfor use in the manufacture ofboots and shoes and is illustrated as embodied in a machine for pressingthe joint or lap of the welt of shoes to reducethe thickness of the weltat the joint in order that the shoe edge may be of substantiallyuniformthickness, thereby improving the appearance of the shoe.

In the manufacture of stitchdown shoes, particularly those of thesmaller sizes, it is usualfto turn outwardly the margin of the uppermaterials all the way round the shoe and to'apply a false welt, socalled, upon the out-turned flange of theupper, the welt, of course,extending entirely around the shoe and being attached by a seam securingthe outturned flange of the upper to a sole. This sewing operation isalways-begun on the in- 'ner side of the shoe and continued completelyaround the periphery of the shoe. When,

at the completion of the sewing operation,

the end of the welt first attached is reached, ends of for uniting theends of pieces without producing extra thickness at the joint may beemployed, but these require more time and skill on the part of theoperator than is justitied by this'class of work. Accordingly, it is acommon practice, after the welt has been sewed on completely around, theshoe, to overlap the welt on the welt end already attached and tocontinue the seam for a few stitches through both thicknesses of theweltthe upper and the sole., The operator then stops the machine,-drawsthe shoe away from the machine with the welt attached, and cuts off thewelt through the last stitch made. In cuttingjofi the weltthe operatorwill sever it at an angle so that the second end of the welt is beveled,the first end having been similarly beveled before attachment of theWelt to the shoe. Of course, where the ends of the welt overlap, thereisathicker appearance of the shoeedge which is objectionable.

The term welt lap as hereinafter used is meant to include any form ofwelt lap such that the joint is thicker than the remaining portion ofthe welt unless the term is shown with eliminate abnormal shoe edgethickness at the welt lap.

In view of the foregoing, the invention provides a welt lap pressingmachine comprising tool for engaging the upper surface of the welt lap,a support for engaging the bottom of the sole opposite to the welt lap,and means for effecting relative movement between the tool and supportto compress the material adjacent to the welt lap to the normalthickness of the shoe edge. Preferably and as illustrated, the tool isfixed and the support is moved relatively to the tool by a foot treadlehaving powerful leverage whereby the desired pressure may be applied tothe shoe materials between the tool and support. Also, as illustrated,the shoe support covers an area of the sole larger than the area of thewelt covered by the tool, so that thepressure I applied will compressthe welt without indenting or marring the bottom of the sole. In orderthat wear and strain on the shoe support may be equalized, theillustrated shoe support is made as a flat, circular disk with a portionof its periphery located under the welt pressing tool, the disk beingconstructed and arranged for rotation so that various portions of itsperiphery may be brought into position under the tool.

In presenting the shoe to the tool, the operator may mar the upper bypressing it too hard on a projecting seam of the upper. Also, when thepressure is applied the welt has a tendency to expand laterallyoutwardly of the shoe. Accordingly, to meet these conditions theillustrated machine is provided an abutment located on the welt engagingface of the tool which abutment is set back from the outer end of thetool a distance corresponding to the normal width of the welt, or less,so that the operator, in pre against the tool or cause the toolto catchl V pushes it into position so that the shoe will .be. properly: locatedwithout Contact of the Fi 2 is'a front View of a'portion of the lapbefore treatmentby the machine and Eig is a view'of' a shoe showingthe'welt 6 lap after treatment by the machine 7 "The illustrated machineis designed. for

pressing the welt lap of'a stitchdown shoe in which thewelt is carriedaround the shoe and the ends lapped one u'pon'the other. In Fig. l

I the numerallO indicates a column to which is secured by screws 12 ahead 14. On the upper'end of the head is asurfaceflfi incli'ned'at aboutthirty degrees from the vertical, to which surface a tool 16 is securedby a capscrew 18and a dowel pin 20. The tool leis shaped at'its lowerend to enter the angle between the upper and. welt of a shoe its endbeing slightly curved to fit the curve of'the upper at the shank portionof the shoe where the welt lap occurs. The tool is provided,

on its lower face, with a flat welt engaging surface having a lateralextent sufficient to cover the lapped area of the welt. At right anglesto the lower face of the toolle a long bearing is provided in the head14 to receive a cylindr cal stem 22 havingat its upper end a disk-shapedhead or enlargement 24 form i'ng atable-hke shoe support or pressingmember to. cooperate with the tool 1 6, The

7 supporting head or table 2 L covers a larger area on the bottom of theshoe thanthe tool I does .on the welt the extended surface of the tablepreventing indenting or otherwise mar ring of the bottom of the shoe bythe applied pressure. Thestem 22 slides longitudinally in its'bore'in adirection perpendicular to the weltengaging face of the teol. 16 and isformed to turn in 1ts bearing sothat by turning the dislifQl variousportions of its periphery may be brought beneath the tool to equalizestrain and wear on the head 24t- .ofthevstem 22. In presentingorwithdraw- 'ing the work, the-operator will usually cause assumeengage'the disk at one side or the other ofitsgpivot so that the diskwill be turned frequently to present different portions of itsperiphery'beneaththe tool. The

disk'is thus turned withoutsp'ecial atten- 7 tion on the part of theoperator;

The

lower end of the stem 22, is rounded and extends into an opening betweenthe side walls of the head 14: in which isvfulcrumed by a pin 26 anangle lever having a long horizontal arm 28 and a short arm 80 having aflat face 32 disposed substantially at right angles to the stem 22. Theflat surface 32 is arranged to engage the lower end of the stem 22, therounded formation of which reduces friction between the surface 32 "andthe stem and permitsit to turnhfreely. The point of engagement of thestem :22 with thecsurface 32 is at a short distance from the fulcrum pin26, so thatthe force applied at the'end of the long arm 28 has apowerful mechanical advantage on the stem, thegratio of the lever armsin the illustrated machine being approXimat-elythree and one halfto one;The outer" end of the arm 28is bifurcated to receive the upper end ofthe treadle lever 36 thelower endof which is pivoted at 38 to ati'ead'le lever' i0 fulcrumed at 4t2'on the, column'lO. The outer end ofthe lever 40 is pro,vided, close to the rod 36, with a treadle (notshown) and is held raised by a spring id. The treadle rod 36 is intwo-parts con nected' by a turn buckle 46 by turningwhich the 'length'ofthe rod may be adjusted;

By reason of the powerful leverage pro vided by the difference'in lengthof the lever arms 28, 80,, an operator of average weight may, byapplying, if des1red,h1sentire welght to the treadle, produce a pressureof the work against the tool in excess of five hundred pounds thispressure being applied by the work support in direction perpendicular tothe work engaging face'of the tool 16 On the we'ltengaging face of'thetool: 16 is provided an abutment 4:8" for the edge of the weltconsisting of a plate somewhat thicker than 'the'average welting andadjustably secured to, the tool by aiscrew, so that its edge face willbe presented to the edge face of the welt. The abutment 48 is located ata distance from the outer end; of the tool 16 equal to'or slightly lessthan' the width of the welt. 1 V V The operator receives the shoe in theconclition shown inFig. 3, where it will be seen thatone end of theweltfhas been lapped over the other end and two stitches taken throughthe two thicknesses of the welt; also that both ends of the welt havebeen'cut oiffat an angle, In operating the machine the shoe jls pl'acedion the table 24; and moved inwardly-of the machine to present theshoe'so thatthe lapped portion of the ,weltwillfbe'located under thewelt engaging face of the tool16, thetoel entering the angle between theupper and the welt.v The'edge'face of the welt will engage the" abutmentand may, if its edge projects too much, be forced inwardly of the shoe.The abutment is preferably set so that the operatorfcannot movetheshoerfar enough. to cause the ends of the. tool 16 forcibly tofl engagethe upper; The inclination of-thetool 16 and the table 24 enable theoperator, in presenting the shoe to the machine, to observe the locationof the welt lap, to lo cate the shoe relatively to the welt pressingtool, and also to watch to good advantage the operation of the machine.The operator then depresses the treadle to apply downwardly directedforce to the outer end of the long arm 28 and hence, through the shortarm 30, powerful pressure to the stem 22 to move it in a directionperpendicular tothe welt engaging face of the tool and cause the worksupport 24 on the stem to apply pressure to an extended area of the shoebottom and force the Welt lap against the smaller area of the welt.engaging face of the tool 16. The pressure thus applied squeezes theprojecting materials of the shoe edge and reduces their thickness, thereduction of thickness occurring principally at the lapped end portionsof the welt which are thus reduced in thickness so that the welt appearsof uniform thickness throughout its extent. WVhile the squeezingpressure is being applied,the abutment 48 holds the welt in place andprevents itfrom being squeezed out or broadened laterally of the shoe.In case the welt lap is diflicult to reduce to the normal thickness ofthe welt, the operation may be repeated, and

in case of an unusually thick or particularly stubborn Welt lap the shoemay be so located that only a portion of the lap will be between thepressing members, the operation besqueeze'the welt lap.

ing repeated and the shoe moved along lengthwise of the welt to reducethe welt lap progressively.

Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Amachine for pressing the welt lap of a boot or shoehaving, incombination, a tool for engaging the welt lap of a shoe, asupport'having a flat surface to engage the shoebottom, and manuallyoperated means having a great mechanical advantage 'for relativelymoving the tool and support to apply heavy sustained pressureperpendicularly of the welt to all portions of the welt lap to cause theWelt lap to be reduced in thickness. v

2. A machine for squeezing the welt lap of a stitchdown shoe having, incombination, a tool to enter the angle between the side of the shoe andthe welt and having a flat surface to engage the welt throughout theextent of the welt lap, a flat table for supporting the soleopposite thewelt lap, and manually operated means arranged for powerful leverage tomove relatively the tool and support to 3. A machine for pressing thewelt lap of a boot or shoe having, in combination, a tool for engaging awelt of a shoe and having a welt engaging surface of sufiicient extentlengthwise of the weltto engage the area of the welt lap,

welt lap, said welt engaging surface being inclined at an angle to thevertical, a table for engaging the sole of the shoe opposite to the weltlap, said table being constructed and arranged to engage a larger areaof the bottom of the shoe than is engaged by the tool upon the welt, andmeans for increasing the effect of an applied force for relativelymoving the tool and table to apply pressure to the sole and welt, theextended surface of the table serving to prevent the pressure frommarring the sole.

4. In a machine for pressing the welt lap of a stitchdown shoe in whichthe welt is carried entirely around the shoe and the ends lapped oneupon the other, the combination of a tool having a fiat lower surface toengage the welt and having a lateral extent sufficient to cover thelapped area of the welt, a sole engaging member having a flat surfaceparallel to the welt engaging face of the tool, and manually operatedmeans constructed and arranged to apply heavy pressure through powerfulleverage for relatively moving the tool and said sole engaging member ina direction perpendicular to their said work engaging surfaces to applypowerful sustained pressure to the material between them and to causethe lapped portions of the welt to be reduced in thickness.

5. In a machine for pressing the welt lap of a stitchdown shoe, thecombination of a welt engaging tool, a table below the welt engagingtool and having its upper surface parallel to the welt engaging surfaceof the tool, a stem on the table mounted for sliding movement in adirection perpendicular to the sole engaging face of the table, an anglelever having unequal arms mounted on a fixed axis, the shorter arm ofthe lever having a surface perpendicular to said stem and engaging thestem, and a treadle connected with the longer arm of said angle lever sothat the table may be moved and powerful upward pressure may be exertedon the table.

6. 'A machine for pressing the welt lap of a boot or shoe having, incombination, a tool for engaging the welt and having sufficient extentlengthwise'of the welt to cover the .a table for engaging the shoebottom and having a stem perpendicular to the welt engaging face of thetool, an angle lever having unequal arms and mounted on a fixed axis,the shorter arm of surface perpendicular to the stem and engaging thestem, and a treadle connected to the longer arm of the angle lever sothat the table may be moved to apply powerful pressure to the shoe tosqueeze the welt lap.

7. In a machine for pressing the welt lap of a stitchdown shoe, thecombination of a fixed tool member having a Hat face to receive the weltlap and cover the extent of the welt the lever having a table beneaththe said ork reeeivingface of the tool and having asurface parallelto'the face of the tool, said. table having a cylindrical stem with arounded lower end, said siemrheing mounted for free turning movej mentand for movement axially perpendicular to the face of the tool, a leverhaving a flat urface engaging the rounded end of the V ,-tein, and meansfor operating the lever to n e the table toward the tool.

8. A inachine'for pressin the lapped ends of the Welt of stitchdoWn shoehaving, in combination, a tool to engage the Welt joint and havingsuiiicient lateralextent to cover the lappedportionsofthe Welt, anabutment to centact Wit 1 the edge face of the Welt and hold it inwardlyor" the shoe, a sole support for engaging the portion of the soleopposite the Welt lap, and means arran 'ed for powerful leverage forrelatively moving the tool and sole support to applypowerful pressure tothe Welt lap. w 1

9. A machine for squeezing the Welt lap of a stitchdown shoe having, incombination, a 2 5 tool to enteruthe angle between the side of the shoeand the Welt to engage the Welt lap, a table for supporting the soleopposite the Welt lap, a on the Welt'engaging face of the tool to engagethe'edge face of the Welt to prevent lateral broadening of the Welt, and

manually operated means arranged for powerful leverage to moverelatively the tool and support to squeeze the Welt lap. v 10. A machinefor pressing the lapped ends of the wait of a stitchdown shoe having,incombination, a tool constructed and arranged to enter the anglebetween'the 'side ot the shoe and the Welt and having a Welt engagingface, an abutment located to engage the edge m'face of the Welt to limitmovement of the tool into the angle and prevent the tool from merring orcatching on the upper, a support for engaging the sole of the shoeopposite to the tool, and meensfor relatively movingtli'e tool andsupport to apply perpendicular pressure to the Weltlap to reduce itsthickness.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. 7

ANDREW rmine} Goj

